I know how dangerous it is to take expired medicine; to keep medicines which I am not technically supposed to be taking. But in a healthcare system where you risk your life if you follow the rules, those of us who are chronically ill have two choices. You can follow the rules and go into debt/the hospital/risk your life. Or you can break the rules, hoard medicine, find cheats and shortcuts, and stay healthier than you might have done otherwise. I choose the second option. - Mattie
Mattie is an online acquaintance of mine who suffers from lupus, a chronic and life-threatening auto-immune disease. She’s also has no health insurance. She’s keeping a blog of her experiences navigating our broken health care system, and it’s pretty harrowing stuff: insurance company officials calling her the day after chemotherapy to pressure her to leave the hospital; a fiance she can’t marry because it would bankrupt them both. At times she’s taken medication sold for horses, because it’s chemically identical to the human version and much cheaper.
If you’ve been looking for a real, human face to help get your anger up about this issue — well, let’s just say that she’s in a position to make a compelling argument for health care reform.
